Airing their dirty laundry

Vietnam’s national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has resumed its regular flights linking Hanoi and Beijing after a three-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline’s flight VN513 departed from Beijing at 3:30 pm and landed in Hanoi at 5.55 pm on Sunday. Before the resumption of the Beijing-Hanoi flight, Vietnam Airlines held a welcoming ceremony for the passengers on board at Beijing International Airport, with the participation of Vietnam and China's competent agencies and enterprises and over 100 passengers. The air carrier is operating the Hanoi-Beijing air route with a frequency of three round-trip flights a week. The airline will start increasing its frequency from mid-2023, while planning to open an air route connecting with Beijing’s Daxing International Airport. China is one of Vietnam Airlines’ biggest international source markets. The air carrier has reopened most of its air routes linking Vietnam to China, said a representative of the airline. The … [Read more...] about Vietnam Airlines restarts air services between Hanoi and Beijing

The Ministry of Finance has just signed a decision to establish a working group to fight against smuggling by air. Drugs are found inside toothpaste tubes which were put in the hand luggage of Vietnam Airlines attendants on March 16 The eight-member group, which is led by Le Thanh Hai, Chief of the Standing Office of the National Steering Committee for Anti-smuggling, Counterfeit Goods and Trade Fraud, will intensify inspection and supervision to promptly detect and handle smuggling by air at local international airports. The move was made following a major drug smuggling case found recently on a Vietnam Airlines flight. Four female Vietnam Airlines flight attendants were found transporting nearly 11 kilos of drugs on a flight from Paris to HCM City on March 16. The four have been detained and had their homes searched while Vietnam Airlines is co-operating with concerned agencies on the investigation into the case. According to the Civil Aviation Authority … [Read more...] about Vietnam sets up working group to fight smuggling by air

Foreign tourists, including Vietnamese, are still required to complete COVID-19 testing within 48 hours before boarding their flights to China and might be randomly selected to take a test at a Chinese airport after their arrival. Many regulations, requirements, and procedures were announced at the Zhangjiajie (China)-Ho Chi Minh City tourism promotion seminar on Monday by Vietnamese and Chinese travel firms to boost tour-connectivity and speed up tourism recovery after a three-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In early April, some flights operated by Vietjet Air and Bamboo Airways will transport Vietnamese visitors to China. Tu Chau, deputy consul general of China in Ho Chi Minh City, said that on March 15, China added Vietnam to its list of approved countries for group tours in its second-phase pilot program of outbound group tours and allowed passengers on board direct flights from Vietnam to take an antigen test instead of a test based on samples of secretions. … [Read more...] about China’s pre-departure COVID-19 testing requirements for air tourists remain applicable to Vietnamese

Air pollution soared in Beijing on Wednesday as the Chinese capital was hit by a huge sandstorm, and dust also shrouded other parts of the country in a sickly orange haze. This photo taken on March 21, 2023 shows police officers checking train cars at a border checkpoint during a sandstorm in the border city of Erenhot, in China's northern Inner Mongolia region. The official air quality index in Beijing hit the maximum level of 500, indicating "severe pollution", though some unofficial readings were nearly twice that figure. Authorities issued weather warnings and warned people to reduce their outdoor activities, as visibility fell to less than one kilometre in some areas of the city on Wednesday morning. In parts of China's north and northwest, high winds and dust turned the sky a lurid tangerine, appearing to cut visibility to less than a few hundred metres in some places. Authorities said the pollution was largely driven by airborne particles known as … [Read more...] about Dust storms cause air pollution spike across north China

The maximum airfare on four out of five flight distances will rise in the second or third quarter, according to a recent price report of the Ministry of Finance. The biggest increase will be 6.67% (to VND4 million or $170) for one-way tickets on flights of 1,280 kilometers (Hanoi to Phu Quoc Island) and longer. Flights between 1,000 and 1,280 kilometers will see their ticket cap price rise 6.25% to VND3.4 million. Flights of smaller distances will see their maximum price rise by between 2.27% and 3.58%. Flights under 500 kilometers will see no ceiling change. Their prices will remain at a maximum of VND1.7 million per one-way ticket. The cap price increase will likely bring Vietnam’s 2023 Consumer Price Index up by 0.07% points. Earlier this year, Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways proposed increasing the cap ticket price to take into account rising in costs. The airfare price cap was last increased in 2015. By November last year, fuel costs had surged more than 80% … [Read more...] about Vietnam to raise air ticket price cap

(photo: infonet.vn) PANO - Air Force Regiment 916 of Division 371 of the Air Defence-Air Force Service on February 7 th safely conducted its first flight training in the Year of the Horse. Pilots and technicians had good performance of flights’ contents with good quality. Since the beginning of this year, the regiment organized various night and day flights, achieving 10.6 per cent of the set target. The regiment is pushing up its preparations for the start of its training for 2014, training key crews and pilots, and teaching flight theory for cadets from the Air Force Officers School. Translated by Mai Huong … [Read more...] about Air force regiment organizes flight training

Thousands of locals and tourists gathered on the beach to admire the 25 balloons and took photos with them. Many were delighted to see many balloons flying in the sky for the first time. With 192km of coastline, Binh Thuan is home to islands, islets, coves, bays, and white sand beaches with clear blue water, which form famous tourist attractions. The province has tourism resources with many historical-cultural relics and traditional festivals. Currently, the province has nearly 900 lodging facilities with over 17,000 rooms, including 45 hotels and resorts from three to five stars with nearly 5,000 rooms. It has 13 travel agencies, including eight international travel agencies. The province strives to attract over 6.7 million tourists this year and turn tourism into one of the three pillar economies. Last year, it served over 5.7 million visitors. Source: VNA … [Read more...] about Hot-air balloon festival draws tourists to Binh Thuan

A plane of Vietnam Airlines (Source: Vietnam Airlines) Beijing (VNA) – Vietnam Airlines conducted the first regular flight from Beijing ( China ) to Hanoi on March 19 after a three-year suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The flight, VN513, departed the Chinese capital at 3:30pm (Beijing time) and will arrive in Hanoi at 5:55pm (Hanoi time). Passengers were welcomed with a ceremony held by the national flag carrier of Vietnam at Beijing Capital International Airport. Vietnam Airlines is operating three round-trip flights per week between Hanoi and Beijing, and will increase the flights from mid-2023. It is also planning to open an air route connecting with Beijing Daxing International Airport. China is one of the biggest international markets of Vietnam Airlines, which has resumed most of its air routes to Chinese destinations, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with Guangzhou and Shanghai, and Hanoi with Beijing. In the coming months, the carrier … [Read more...] about Vietnam marks first regular flight from Beijing after three years

Bangkok (NNT/VNA) - The National Environment Board (NEB) of Thailand has endorsed stricter measures to combat air pollution caused by PM2.5 , ordering all 17 provinces in the North to halt burning activities until the end of April. Centre for Air Pollution Mitigation Spokesperson Siwaporn Rugsiyanon said that from January to March, the number of hotspots in the country increased to 56,439 points nationwide, with 31,719 in the North, of which 80% were in forest land and 15% in farming zones. To address the problem, the NEB has proposed a zero-burning policy in both forest and agricultural zones in the 17 northern provinces. If the situation worsens, the agency could consider ordering the closure of as many as 92 forest parks that operate under the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation to mitigate the situation. Other measures include prohibiting the purchase of sugar cane harvested by burning methods, restricting the number and duration of … [Read more...] about Thailand’s northern provinces ordered to halt burning activities to combat PM2.5 pollution

Ca Mau Cape - a tourist attraction in Ca Mau (Photo: VNA) Ca Mau (VNA) – The People’s Committee of the southernmost province of Ca Mau is planning a wide range of activities within the framework of the “Ca Mau – Destination 2023” Programme to promote the locality’s tourism potential. Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Minh Luan said that the programme aims to create chances for businesses to meet, connect and cooperate in developing trade and tourism. The plan aims to help Ca Mau boost socio-economic growth, develop tourism associated with trade and services, and stimulate the sale of local products, particularly local specialties and OCOP (One commune-one product) products. Accordingly, the province will organise a ceremony to mark the death anniversary of Hung Kings, the legendary founders of Vietnam (the 10th day of the third lunar month), a Ca Mau Cape Marathon, and a southern traditional cake festival, and a Ca Mau shrimp festival. A … [Read more...] about Various activities to be held in “Ca Mau – Destination 2023” Programme